The Secret Note
by Unaden
Summary: It was a while ago when Lucy wrote nice notes saying what she thought about her amazing friends at Fairy Tail. She made a special one for Gray. It seemed right considering what her feelings are for him. But, what happens when Lucy finds herself hurt? She can't remember anything recent, not even her feelings. Can Gray keep Lucy? Or will Natsu make his move?
1. The Note

**I postponed the Kuroshitsuji story pretty much as soon as I started it. I just, wasn't into it. So, I decided to do a quick Lucy X Gray story, It will only be a chapter or two, due to my unbelievably strong procrastination and laziness habits... A few cool pictures made me miss Fairy Tail and I couldn't help myself. Although I am more for NaLu, I just wanted to go out on a limb and see if this works. I am really bored so fair warning: Don't be shocked if this is bad.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail. (So sad...)**

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It was a regular day at the Fairy Tail Guild, everyone doing their regular jobs. MiraJane was working the bar, Gray and Natsu were going at it again, Lucy was watching casually, Cana was gulping down barrels of wine, and Happy was helplessly trying to stop Gray and Natsu. Happy decided to join Lucy after he came to the realization that the two couldn't be stopped.

At first, Lucy didn't notice Happy. She was too focused on watching Gray and Natsu fight. Well, actually she was focused on watching _Gray_ fight. She studied his toned body and how skilled he was with ice. He knew when and where to strike Natsu, all perfect timing. It still wasn't enough to defeat the Salamander, but it was enough to make him fight harder. Before Lucy realized it, her heart was racing at the thought of Gray and his perfect smile, and his perfect body, and his perf-

"Lucy!" Happy waved his blue paw in front of her face to catch her attention. "Oh, sorry. I was caught up in the battle." Happy watched the fight with Lucy and sighed at his failure. "Don't worry about not being able to stop them. Erza is the only one here who is capable of easily stopping them. I heard she should be coming back from that quest soon, right?" Lucy asked Happy as she watched the fight between Gray and Natsu continue. "Yeah, let's hope it's soon! These two could, and will, go all day if Erza doesn't get here soon!" Happy replied.

As expected, the doors to the Fairy Tail Guild flew open and there stood Erza. Immediately Gray and Natsu went into friend mode, their arms around each other's necks with large fake grins resting upon their faces. Erza walked in and looked around the half-destroyed Guild Hall. There were tables split in half, broken stools, two walls with holes in them, and multiple other broken objects laying around the guild. It all led to Gray and Natsu.

It was pretty obvious considering the fact that there were a few burned stools among the broken ones and shards of ice resting among the floor. "Natsu! Gray!" Erza roared, causing what was left of the Guild Hall to shake. Both gulped loudly and knew what they were in for when they saw Erza's dark aura start to emerge.

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Later that evening at Lucy's apartment...

Lucy had just finished bathing and walked out of her bathroom to find Erza, Gray, and Natsu sprawled out in various places of her apartment. Erza was resting comfortably on her couch with a paper from her writing desk, Natsu was on the floor with another page, and Gray was at the desk itself in only his boxers also holding a page of her story. "What are you all doing in my apartment?!" she shouted, gripping the towel wrapped around her tighter.

"We came to spend the night as a team," Erza answered coolly. Lucy found her anger simmering, "So, you decided we would all have a group sleep over at _my _apartment without giving me any kind of heads up?! You come to have a sleepover at someone's house and just barge in without telling them anything! Since when is that okay?! And why are you all reading that! Give it here!" Lucy stormed toward Erza and defensively swiped the paper out of her hand. She did the same to Natsu and Gray within the next few seconds.

"That's it! Everyone OUT!" Lucy shouted and pointed toward the door of her apartment angrily. She was obviously frustrated with her friends. One by one everyone left her apartment. Natsu was first, then Erza, then Gray. But before Gray left, he turned toward Lucy and looked her up in down, checking out her half-naked body. Lucy noticed what he was doing, but before she could shout about how much of a pervert he was, he sent her a small smile with eyes full of lust and was out the door.

Lucy stood in the same spot for a few stunned moments. _"Did Gray just do that? What was that look in his eyes? What was that expression?" _Lucy thought. _"Lucy. Stop. He didn't mean anything. It was just a joke." _She quickly thought of the page of feelings she had written about each of her friends and panicked, thinking maybe Gray found the one about him.

Lucy a while back had written pages about what she thought of each of her friends. Everything on the notes were nice, but Gray's was special. She had written, _"I wish he would notice me more. I want Gray to pay more attention to me and know how I feel. I try to make him notice me, but he just thinks of me as his friend and nothing more. I wish he felt the same way I do about him. I don't just want Gray to know I like him. I want him to know this: I love Gray Fullbuster." _

Lucy quickly scanned through the three pages that she had swiped from her friends and sure enough, there it was. The love letter about Gray. It had to be him who read it because she had taken Erza's page first which was part of Lucy's book, then Natsu's which was also part of Lucy's book, and then Gray's which was the letter.

This was no doubt one of the largest mistakes Lucy had ever made. Not just letting Gray get his hands on the letter, but writing it was a big mistake. Now, Lucy's life would either turn into a dream come true, or things would most likely blow up in her face and destroy her life. She had hope that this would go well. But is hope really _that_ reliable?

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**I hope everyone enjoyed and I told you this wouldn't be good, so you can't say you weren't warned. Please leave a review of what you thought about this. Good, bad, what I can improve on, if you liked it, if you didn't. Anything. **

**I might make this a little longer than I said before. ****Might****. Only if I know people are enjoying it. If no one is enjoying it, I might just delete this all together. So, I highly advise you to leave what you thought as a review.**

**Until next time! (: Bye! :)**


	2. Lucy and Gray's Quest

**Apparently the first chapter was okay, so chapter two. I don't plan for anything large to happen in this chapter, but it will be interesting. I plan for it to lead up to the next chapter. I see a cliff hanger in the near future. Hehehe...**

**Anyways!**

**I hope you guys (barely anyone) enjoy this chapter. (Although I highly doubt anyone will.) Shall we get on with this chapter?**

**Disclaimer: I ****don't**** own Fairy Tail.**

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Lucy walked into the unusually calm Fairy Tail Guild Hall to see everyone either sitting and chatting or at the Request Board. Lucy wondered why it was so calm at the usually chaotic guild, but she quickly noticed Gray was sitting alone, no Natsu anywhere to be seen. And what was even more out of the ordinary was the fact that Gray was dressed. Pants _and _a shirt. Lucy's heart skipped a beat when she saw a chance to talk to him alone, then remembered the special note incident and looked away.

Gray seemed to notice her scarlet cheeks and turned away face as she hesitated to move from the guild's entrance. Gray figured she must have known about the note he had found and decided to forget that for now. "Lucy!" Gray casually called her over. Gray watched as the blonde unexpectedly turned toward him. He used his hand to gesture for her to come over and have a seat.

"Hi, Gray. What do you need?" Lucy tried to act casual, but it was easy to tell that Lucy wasn't herself today. "Sit down, relax," Gray said with a cool smile, very unusual for Gray. Lucy looked up at him, "Why is it so quiet around here? I haven't seen Natsu which would explain it. Where is he anyway?" Gray shrugged slightly and replied, "He went off on a quest with Erza, I think." Lucy nodded and decided to return her gaze to her hands that were silently resting on her lap.

The silence between the two went on for a long while, every moment more unbearable than the last. It had been a few minutes before Gray spoke. "I don't know why Erza and Natsu randomly went off together, but it only seems right if we follow in their footsteps and go off on a quest by ourselves," Gray spoke calmly, but the words shocked Lucy. Her eyes quickly flew up to Gray's. "I don't know..." Lucy stated awkwardly. Gray seemed annoyed. "C'mon. It'll be fun. And we could have some bonding time," Gray winked as he said this, causing Lucy's cheeks to turn to a shade of red that was about the same color as Erza's hair. "Fine," Lucy muttered as she stood. "Let's go pick something. Something easy but good paying. I need this month's rent."

"Fair enough," Gray said as he nodded and stood with her as they walked to the Request Board. When they looked around at the available quests, there wasn't anything special. But one caught Lucy's attention. It was what she was looking for. An easy quest, and it payed just enough so they could split the reward and Lucy could have her rent money. "How about this one?" She looked down to examine the sheet of paper. "Some beast or monster or something has been going around in a village eating whatever it can find outside of the homes. Crops mainly, but also things like shoes, clothes, wood from houses, and tearing through garbage cans. It sounds pretty easy and look how well it pays." Lucy plucked the sheet off the board and turned back to Gray, only to find him in boxers.

"Gray! Where are your clothes?!" Lucy exclaimed. Gray looked down and noticed his clothes were gone. "Again?!" He tried to shrug it off. "Just forget about it. Let me see," Gray said quickly. He looked at the paper in Lucy's hands and nodded. "Simple enough. Want to go now?" Lucy nodded but stopped herself and held up her hand. "First, your getting dressed." Gray sighed and trudged off to see where his clothes ended up this time.

Lucy took the free time to talk to MiraJane at the bar. She rushed over and sat down. MiraJane quickly found her way to Lucy. "Hey, what's wrong, Lucy? You look a little freaked out," MiraJane spoke cautiously, not sure what was wrong. Lucy started explaining. "Well, you're aware that I like Gray and all but he read the secret note I wrote to him and now he knows that I like him..." MiraJane couldn't stop the giggle that managed to escape her lips.

"Why is that so bad?" MiraJane didn't see the giant issue. "He now wants to go on a quest alone with me because Natsu and Erza went on a quest by themselves. What do I do, Mira?" Lucy whined. "Lucy, I see the problem here but maybe you're overreacting a bit. Maybe he secretly feels the same way about you and just doesn't show it. Just take on the mission as you would for any other. And if he does try to do something, I wouldn't reject it right away. Just go along with it and you may find that you're enjoying yourself, okay?" Lucy nodded at MiraJane's words.

"Thanks, Mira. You always know what to say," Lucy said gratefully. MiraJane shrugged with a smile. "It's a gift. Now you better get going. I think Gray should have found all of his clothes by now. Remember, just go with it. And be sure to make a few moves yourself if you feel like it's the right time. Understand, Lucy?" Lucy nodded and quickly stood. She skipped off to meet Gray at the Guild Hall's entrance. From the bar MiraJane sighed to herself and muttered, "Good luck, Luce. Let's hope all goes well."

Lucy met Gray at the entrance of the guild and they headed out. There wasn't any time to lose. After a few minutes of silently heading into town, Lucy spoke. "So where is this place? I thought it was pretty close," Lucy said without even looking at Gray. Gray nodded. "It will take us about 30 minutes to get there by foot. Not as close as you thought, huh?" Gray asked as he looked at the blonde's beautiful features. She shook her head silently.

They had been walking for fifteen painfully silent minutes as Gray thought about Lucy's note. _"I want him to notice me more." _Gray had thought about that line in particular. Notice her more? What did she mean? He thought he treated her the same as everyone else, but that's when it hit him. That was it. She didn't want to be treated 'just like everyone else.' She wanted to be treated special. Lucy had wanted Gray to treat her like his girlfriend. That was what she wanted.

When Gray glanced at Lucy from the corner of his eye, he paid closer attention to how beautiful she was. Her chocolate brown eyes, her perfect blonde hair, the light blush on her cheeks, the determination naturally set on her face. Not to mention her huge bust. It made her that much more perfect. Gray listened to her Celestial Keys lightly jingling as they walked. When he looked back over at her again, he looked at where her keys were on her hip, and Gray suddenly thought her skirt looked shorter than before. He felt the feeling he had a few nights ago when he saw her in her towel.

When Lucy looked over at him, he looked at her and their eyes met. Lucy recognized the look in Gray's eyes. The one she'd seen a few nights ago. It was there again. Like a beast that was contained, never to be let out. It was unusual and it honestly slightly frightened Lucy as she saw what was waiting for her. The lust that rested in his eyes again made Lucy want to...

Lucy shook her head suddenly and found Gray left staring at her with an oddly raised eyebrow. "Something wrong?" Lucy looked at him and said, "No, it was just a fly." Gray shrugged as they continued down the path that led to the village.

Gray found himself looking at Lucy again from the corner of his eye. It made him think of the same things over and over. _"Her chocolate brown eyes, her perfect blonde hair, the light blush on her cheeks, the determination naturally set on her face. Everything perfect." _That was when yet another realization hit Gray.

Those were the same reasons why Natsu was also falling for Lucy...

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**I lied. I said that nothing big would happen. But I did say something about a cliff hanger. What will happen? Natsu ****_and _****Gray falling for Lucy. Things just got real.**

**Leave a review and tell me what you thought and if you want me to continue. If more people like it, I'll keep going. I just hope people are enjoying this! And ****_if_**** more people read and enjoy this, I promise I will get the next chapter up soon and that it will be jam packed with drama and all sorts of fun things! That is ****_if_**** people are enjoying this! **

**Until next time! (: Bye! :)**


	3. True Feelings

**I am very proud of that last chapter and I can't wait to see what happens in this one! (Yes, I wrote this and I don't even know what will happen next, but it will be BIG!) I actually didn't expect to put that last line on the previous chapter but I felt like there needed to be something to make this story more interesting. **

**Well, at least more interesting than what the obvious outcome would be. And even ****_I_**** don't know how this will end. Maybe I could have another guy get involved and it could be a massive war! No, too much work.**

**But, overall I just went back over this chapter. I just needed a filler before things get real in the next chapter. I am not too excited about this one but hope you enjoy anyway!**

**Whatever... Here goes nothing...**

**Disclaimer: I ****_don't_**** own Fairy Tail.**

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It had felt like forever before Lucy and Gray had finally reached the village. The awkward silence was driving Gray insane and if it had gone on much longer, it most likely would not have a pretty ending.

The layout of the town resembled a spider. A circle in the center, like the village's place to meet, and there were eight streets branching off from the center of the village. The village itself consisted of wooden cabins that were more like huts. There were people bustling along the dirt roads. Some people were carrying what could be salvaged of the crops, others carrying clothes, some even carrying firewood. It wasn't a very big village, but it was very busy.

A man came out of one of the wooden huts to greet them. He was a very short man that had gray eyes, graying hair, and his features were very withered. It looked like fatigue and stress were taking its toll on him. "Are you two from the Fairy Tail Guild? Here to help out with the monster? Please tell me you are," the man said desperately.

Lucy put on a reassuring smile. "Yes, sir. We're here to take care of that monster. It showed up on our Request Board and we didn't hesitate to help," Lucy said warmly. "Is there anything we should know about this 'monster'?"

The man looked up at them and said, "Well, let me think. It only comes out at night. You would have a pretty good chance at finding it tonight by the crops. The crops are where he usually starts eating, but if he isn't satisfied, he'll go for anything outside of the houses. It even recently started going through garbage cans for food."

Gray looked at the short man. "I can promise you we can end this tonight for good." The man responded with, "Great. I'll also let you both stay in a little hut for tonight as my thanks. Follow me and I will show you where you will be staying." He walked into the village with Lucy and Gray behind him.

As they walked through the village roads, Lucy noticed just how organized the village was. The streets were numbered from 1-8 and the houses on the streets were each numbered from 1-16. That seemed to be how they created addresses. It went something like 1:1. The first number was the street, and the second was the hut. Lucy found the system out pretty easily.

Gray suddenly said, "I'm Gray and this is Lucy. What may we call you?" The man made his explanation quick. "I'm the chief of this village. I protect my people from all danger, but thank goodness you're here now. I was getting worried that the beast might turn to the people as it's next food source. Anyway, just call me Taeba."

After a few minutes of walking the chief of the village led them into their hut for the night. The address was 6:14. Lucy thought that it was simple enough to remember. Lucy and Gray walked into the small hut with the chief waiting at the door to see their expression. Gray's eyes flew to the one bed in the entire hut. It was a king size but there was still just one. Lucy also seemed to do the exact same thing.

Lucy turned back to the man at the door and smiled as she explained the situation to him. "I love this hut and it is very beautiful, but there is one small issue. There is only one bed and we are just friends. We aren't together or anything. Is there by any chance a way I can get a place of my own to stay? Just for tonight? Please?" Lucy was aware how much she was asking for, but she tried to sound as polite as she could.

The chief looked up at Lucy, and it was easy to tell he was very annoyed with her already. "Sorry, but this is the only available hut in the entire village. You are lucky that I managed to save one for the Fairy Tail wizards that are here to help us. But, if you would like to sleep outside, be my guest," the chief said flatly. He left after finishing speaking.

Lucy stood there for a second, surprised that he hadn't treated her a bit better. She _was_ here to help him, right? A little hospitality would've been appreciated. She was interrupted when Gray tapped her on the shoulder and said, "Hey, something wrong, Luce?" Lucy looked back at him and shook her head. "No, nothi- Wait. Gray, did you just call me _'Luce'_?"

Gray nodded and shrugged. "Yeah, why? Natsu calls you Luce all the time so I thought that I would try it out and see how it feels. Why? Is it a crime or something? Am I not allowed to call you Luce?"

Lucy shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'm just not used to hearing it from you." Gray smiled as he jumped on the bed as he said, "Well, get used to it, _Luce_." Lucy smiled back at Gray as she uncomfortable joined him on the bed. They both were silent, the air was tense, everything seemed wrong.

It had been like this between them ever since Gray had discovered the secret note about him. After about 10 minutes of uncomfortably painful silence between the two, Gray wanted to speak, to end this for good. He was already sick of things being so odd. Gray was seconds away from boiling over when Lucy seemed to notice him gripping the sheets of the bed.

"Hey, Gray? Something wrong? You seemed a little aggravated..." Lucy said innocently.

That seemed to catch Gray's attention. He didn't want to flip out on her now. Gray suddenly decided to say what he was trying to in a nicer tone than what he planned to. "Lucy, I read that note..." He started with that little bit to see how Lucy would react.

Lucy's gaze seem to drop to his hands. "I know. I already knew. You already knew that."

Gray smiled to himself. "Maybe I did."

"I'm sorry. About writing that. I know you don't really feel that way about me."

Gray looked at her. "What makes you say that?"

"You read what I wrote. You never notice me."

"I try to keep myself from noticing you too much, Lucy. I want you just as much as you want me, but I can't just let myself do that."

Lucy looked a bit shocked when she looked up at him. "What?"

"I knew if I let myself have you like this, I wouldn't be able to go back," Gray tried to explain, but he couldn't quite find a way to put into words.

"But, you're okay now, right?" Lucy looked up at him with the same innocent look on her face.

"Am I?"

Lucy blinked and when she opened her eyes again, she found Gray on her lips.

It was an experience that Lucy couldn't put into words. She was so shocked and stiff and she couldn't move. Lucy's eyes were wide when Gray pulled back. "You okay, Lucy? You look a little shocked, to say the least." Lucy nodded to say she was fine, but it was easy to tell she was in shock. "Maybe this will bring you back to reality."

Gray leaned down and fit his lips to Lucy's again. Sure enough, Lucy was back. She didn't shove him off of her or hit him like she normally would've. She actually accepted it. To both of them, it just felt..._right_. They stayed like this for a while longer, both lost in the moment of embracing each other for the first time. They both pulled back for much needed air.

"Gray..." Lucy said suddenly. Gray smiled. "Yes?" She looked him up and down and said, "Your clothes..."

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**So...**

**I lied again. I said it would get interesting here. But it didn't. I was going to make it good but then the chapter was already too long. I just wanted to finish the bit here, but it seems it was too long already. So, I promise that within the next chapter or two (Most likely the next chapter) things will get good. **

**The fighting will start, but mainly over one accident I have planned. When the big shocker happens next chapter, it will only get more and more crazy. I can swear that. **

**I actually just finished this for the second time. I hated how it was before and I still do, I just don't like this chapter and I'm sure no one else likes it either... **

**Please leave a review and tell me what you thought! Good or bad, leave a review!**

**Until next time! (: Bye! :)**


	4. Lucy!

**I think that the last chapter turned out... Okay. No more, no less. But I have a feeling that I will be way more satisfied. This is a shorter chapter, and I'm sorry about that. But, I had to make it short or else it would've been too long. You'll know what I mean by the end of this chapter.**

**I can promise one _awesome _thing that will come out of this... Chaos. Sweet, _sweet _choas.  
**

**I think I'll make this a pretty good chapter and it will lead up to next time when Lucy finds ou...**

**Never mind. You already know. But this will get the chaos started, no doubt. Ready? GO!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

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Gray sat on the opposite side of the bed and watched Lucy sleep peacefully. Sure it was a stalker action, but he couldn't help himself. She was just so... _perfect_. There wasn't any other way to describe her. Gray looked out of the window to see the sun setting. That meant he had to wake Lucy up. _"But, she looks so peaceful," _one part of Gray said. The other part said, _"Sure she looks peaceful, but it's time to wake her up and go fight. Wake her up all ready." _

Gray sighed and lightly shook Lucy's shoulder. She turned a bit and mumbled, "A few more minutes," while she was half asleep. Gray shook her a little more, causing Lucy to let out a groan. Still, Lucy didn't make any effort to get up. Gray sighed again, deeper this time, and sat Lucy up roughly. "Lucy. Come on. We need to leave soon," Gray said firmly, clearly not in the mood for her to fall back asleep.

Lucy looked more alert and yawned while stretching her arms. "Fine," she said flatly. "Good," Gray said as he stood and made his way to the door. Lucy sleepily stood and was walking out the door when Gray cleared his throat, trying to signal her that she forgot something that might be important while they fought. Lucy looked back at him. "Are you okay? You should get that cough checked out," she said obliviously.

Gray pointed back to the bedside table where she had put her keys before she took her nap. "Your keys, Lucy," Gray said. Lucy rolled her eyes as she walked over with a smile. "Duh! I knew that!" she said as she grabbed her keys and walked out the door. Gray followed her out the door and muttered, "Sure you did."

Lucy started walking down the dirt street to go into the heart of the village. Gray walked along side her. "So, where are the crops exactly?" Gray raised an eyebrow at Lucy, not expecting her to know. "Well, if I remember correctly, they are on the right side of the village. The crops stretch behind streets. I'm not exactly sure how long the crops stretch. I guess from streets about 1-3," Lucy said as she thought.

Gray's mouth seemed to drop into an "O" shape. "Impressive," Gray remarked. "How did you remember all that?" he asked, still slightly shocked. Lucy answered with, "I'm a very observant person, unlike some people." Lucy playfully mocked him with a smile. Gray rolled his eyes and snorted arrogantly as he played along.

The village was more like a town. By the time Lucy and Gray were at the first street, it was dark. About halfway down the first street, the crops could be seen. It was difficult to tell what had been growing previously because there were only parts of stems left behind. Every stem led up to a harsh-looking bite that was left by the beast.

Gray tapped Lucy's shoulder and put a finger over his lips as he pointed into the forest that started near the edge of the crops. At first Lucy didn't understand what he was looking at. Then there was a noise coming from that direction of the forest. Lucy nodded to Gray, signaling she was ready to get closer.

Both crept into the forest as quietly as possible. They headed in the general direction of the sound they heard, but were confused when they heard a similar sound coming from the opposite way. It sounded like a bush that was being moved, or leaves that were being stepped on. Lucy looked at Gray and held up two fingers as she mouthed, "Two?" Gray's brow furrowed as he shrugged slightly.

They decided to continue in the direction of the first sound instead of split up. After all, this could be a massive beast. They had no idea what it how large it could be or what it could be capable of. They walked on for a while, following noises that could be heard. When they thought they were close to the beast, there was a loud growl.

The growl came from behind a group of large bushes. Gray got ready to fight and Lucy tried to pick out a key as quietly as she could. Gray took another step forward when he heard Lucy. But, it words weren't what he heard. It was her scream. Gray turned around as soon as he heard her, but he was too late.

Lucy looked so small standing before such a strong beast. It had used its powerful head to easily send Lucy's fragile body into air, then colliding into a tree. A loud thump could be heard as she slammed into the tree. Immediately her eyes found Gray.

Lucy found there was no pain. She couldn't feel anything but the weight of her limbs. They suddenly felt heavy. Everything was hard to comprehend. The world was spinning, it was all fuzzy. Lucy managed to find Gray standing there, watching her closely. His eyes held hers for what felt like eternity to her. Lucy had a sudden feeling of fatigue as it tugged at her. If she just leg go, she could be brought peace. Just for a while. Lucy let the fatigue that was tugging at her finally take her over. She felt darkness wash over her as her vision faded, causing Gray to become nothing more than a memory.

Gray watched as Lucy's eyes closed and she dropped to the ground limply. "LUCY!" he cried out. Gray suddenly felt everything within him turn to boiling rage. He looked at the beast standing before him and the other that was emerging from behind the bushes. "Looks like today isn't your lucky day," Gray growled. The voice he was using had never been heard before, it was even new to him. This voice was full of pure rage and anger, like a beast inside him that should never be unleashed.

Gray took one more look at Lucy's limp body and whispered, "I promise that I _will _save you, Lucy Heartfilia. Even if it's the last thing I do." Gray turned to face his enemies.

_"I promise..."_

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**So...**

**All I'm going to say is review...**

**Until next time! (: Bye! :)**


	5. Natsu and Gray

**That last chapter was... Whew! Now things get real. I have a feeling this will be a long and emotional chapter. It should be great! Should. No promises have been made. Let's keep that in mind while reading this chapter. Deal? Deal. Good.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter and all that great stuff.**

**Ready? GO!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

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Gray rushed into Fairy Tail shouting for help. He burst through the doors yelling, "Help! Anyone! Help!" Everyone jumped at the sound of his voice. MiraJane rushed to him to calm him down but noticed Lucy on his back. She was unconscious. "What happ-" Mira was abruptly cut off by Natsu rushing over when he saw Gray.

"Ready for round two, Ice Princess?" his voice seemed to drop flat as he finished his sentence. "Lucy..." Natsu whispered under his breath. "What happened?!" he shouted when he saw Lucy's unconscious state. "That's not important! We need get Lucy over to Porlyusica's as soon as possible!" Gray barked the orders as others scrambled away to obey him. Today, no one dared to question his authority.

Gray slowly lowered Lucy's body onto a table that had been cleared for her. Something new was on Lucy that Gray hadn't noticed before. On her stomach was a massive gash that was bleeding terribly. Gray felt his back with his fingers and looked at them, only to find Lucy's blood.

Gray grabbed everyone's attention as he spoke. "What's the quickest way we can safely get Lucy to Porlyusica's?" he boomed. Natsu snorted. "Me, of course! I'll just run there. Lucy can ride on my back," Natsu said. Gray looked at him and said, "Sure, but I asked how we could get her there _safely_, Flame Brain." Natsu glared at him, knowing that now wasn't the time to launch an attack at him. "Just let me take her. I promise I'll keep her safe and she won't be hurt, or whatever the hell you're worried about," Natsu said persistently.

MiraJane stepped into their argument. "Gray, look at your options. You can either let Natsu take Lucy to Porlyusica's in no time or you can risk letting Lucy's condition decline even more while you stand here and bicker!" Mira said quickly. "So, what's it going to be?" Gray lowered his head and silently thought over MiraJane's words. He reluctantly agreed to let Natsu take Lucy to Porlyusica.

As Natsu gently lifted Lucy onto his back, he silently thanked Mira by glancing at her with a grateful look. Gray flicked the side of Natsu's head to regain his attention. "What was that for?!" Natsu said as he glared at Gray. "Hurry up! We need to get her to Porlusica as soon as possible," Gray said. Natsu found a flaw in Gray's speech. "Hold on! Who's _'we'_?!" Natsu glared at Gray. Gray started walking towards the open doors of the guild, letting the darkness of night swallow half of him. "You actually think I'd let you go alone? You're lucky enough I let you carry Lucy. I'm coming with you, so let's go!" _  
_

Natsu let a challenging grin play onto his lips. "Fine, you can come. But, only if you're prepared to eat my dust!" Natsu shot from the guild, leaving a massive trail of dust behind him. Gray watched as Natsu took the first left in town he came across. Gray sighed inwardly as he called, "Wrong way, retard!" Natsu came back the way he came and went the opposite way, shooting by in a blur. He called, "Knew that!" Gray snorted and started after Natsu.

It didn't take long for Natsu to arrive at Porlyusica's, as expected. Natsu walked to the tree house and pounded on the door. Porlyusica answered and immediately noticed Lucy on his back. "Bring the poor girl in. Lay her on the bed over there." Prlyusica pointed to the white bed in the corner of the room. It was clearly not hers, there for people like Lucy. It was rarely used, but when it was used it was quite helpful.

Gray arrived a few minutes later. Everything seemed quiet. He rushed into the Porlyusica's tree house and was surprised when he wasn't greeted. Neither Porlyusica nor Natsu even seemed to notice Gray's presence as he burst through the door rudely. Natsu was focused on moving Lucy from his back onto the bed as gently as possible. Gray watched and noticed how smoothly Natsu was able to work. Personally, Gray hadn't ever seen Natsu treat anything with such ease and care. It was stunning how he worked.

Porlyusica looked over Lucy's body and seemed to know her condition with little observation. The pink haired woman looked at the boys with a furrowed brow, trying to keep worry out of her expression. "She doesn't look good, obviously. I can't say what's wrong just yet, so I need an explanation. Who was there when this happened to her, or was anybody even there?" Gray waved his hand slightly while Natsu hung his head low and sighed deeply. "Gray, you stay here and explain this to me. Natsu, go outside. You can either head back to Fairy Tail or wait a few minutes until Gray comes out and you can head back together."

Natsu was about to start whining when Porlyusica shot him a dead serious glare. Natsu gulped loudly and trudged by Gray to get to the door. Gray watched Natsu go by and made sure that his smirk was delivered clearly before Natsu sadly closed the door. As soon as Natsu was outside the door, he positioned himself to hear the entire conversation as it happened inside the home.

Porlyusica's voice was the first to be heard as she said, "Explain to me what happened to the girl." Gray sighed deeply as a flashback of the hour before appeared in his head. "Lucy and I were in the woods of a village nearby working on a job to find some 'monster' that had been harming the villagers' crops. We were in the forest, Lucy was following me to where we heard rustling in some bushes. We heard a noise that came from far behind Lucy in some more bushes, but we still continued on in the original direction," he paused.

Porlyusica took the chance to say, "This isn't telling me how she got into her current state." Natsu had been listening in on the conversation so far and thought the same thing Porlyusica had just said.

Gray nodded and hesitantly decided to continue. "We were just at the bushes were we's heard the first sound..." Gray paused again. "And that's when I heard her," Gray suddenly stopped. The sound of Lucy's blood-curdling scream filled his ears as the memory of her frail body colliding into the tree replayed in his head. Everything in that moment seemed to go in slow motion. Her eyes started dulling as they closed. Gray heard himself cry Lucy's name and that's when the memory came to an abrupt halt, leaving Gray feeling even more hollow and empty then before. Guilt started to tug his heart from all angles. Gray found his vision blurry and realized it was unshed tears that were on the verge of taking him over, but he kept them as silent as he could. The guilt threatened to take over Gray's toned body, but Gray knew he had to stay as strong as he could for Lucy.

Porlyusica knew it wasn't in her best interest to push Gray any further. She silently watched as a new side of Gray showed. It was a soft and vulnerable, and only came out now. Only when Lucy was hurt. Natsu listened to the silence and crept to a window that he looked through to find Gray standing in the middle of the room shaking. Silent tears ran down his cheeks, all leaving behind streaks. Natsu found it painful to watch one of his friends in so much pain. _"Hold on. Gray... A friend. No, no, no. Just an honest mistake." _Natsu didn't want to admit it, but deep down inside he knew that Gray was a friend. A _real _friend.

Gray's strong body trembled slightly as he barely managed to collect himself again. The trembling transferred into his voice as he forced himself to continue. "S-she screamed, and I turned and she was standing in front of a giant beast... S-she looked so small, so _weak _compared to it. It was stronger and larger than Lucy. She was fumbling with her keys, but she didn't have time to react... It threw her against a tree with a lot of force."

Gray felt another wave of tears want to flood him, but he wasn't going to cry again. Despite his best effort to conceal his tears, a few had escaped and were flowing down Gray's face. Gray ended the story there. He didn't want to continue. He _couldn't _continue. It was too painful, especially since he felt it was his fault that he didn't defend Lucy.

Porlyusica nodded. "Thank you, that should help me when I get a closer look at her." But, Porlyusica didn't need a closer look. It was clear to her. Lucy had a broken rib, and when the beast had sent her it left a pretty ugly scrape across Lucy's stomach. That's all she knew so far, but the pink haired woman knew there were going to be a few more injuries that she would discover along the way. "I don't know anything right know, but come back in the morning and I can fill you in on what I find overnight," Porlyusica lied.

Gray nodded and left the tree house. Once Porlyusica was sure that Gray was out of hearing range and the door was closed, she looked back at the suffering girl on the bed. She said, "Dear girl, I find it a miracle that you are even still breathing at this point. It is remarkable. Looking back at what your body has endured, it truly _is _a miracle."

Natsu was waiting a few feet from the door to rid of any suspicion from Gray that he had been eavesdropping. Natsu was slightly caught off guard when Gray looked didn't even acknowledge him. "Come on, Gray. Let's head back to the guild," Natsu said as he turned and started walking toward the path that led into Magnolia. Natsu noticed he didn't hear Gray's footsteps behind his own and turned around to see Gray frozen in place near the door of Porlyusica's house.

"Gray. What are you doing? Let's go." Natsu made sure there was a firm note in his voice. Gray shook his head. "I'm not leaving here until I know that Lucy is okay," he said stubbornly. Natsu looked at him. "You know how I feel about her," Natsu said. He wasn't aware that Gray was also in love with her. He wasn't aware that they'd kissed. Now, another wave of guilt hit Gray, this was stronger than he'd expected. Natsu continued. "I _love _Lucy, but even I know that standing here all night won't solve anything. So, let's go." Natsu repeatedly harshly.

He felt the new wave of guilt weighed him down even more. Gray just wanted some guilt to be sent away. He knew he'd regret it later, but that didn't matter right now. Gray dropped his head in shame. "Natsu, Lucy and I...We kissed." Natsu took a stunned step backwards. "What? You did_ what_?" Natsu looked at him. "I'm sorry, but she didn't reject me. She was okay with it," Gray said quickly. Natsu made fists that caught on fire. "You think that makes it okay?" Gray took a large step back before charging toward Magnolia. His goal was to try to make it to the guild for reinforcements. _  
_

Gray wasn't surprised when he saw fire shoot past his head. He only picked up his pace and shot to Fairy Tail as fast as he could. Gray found that he'd made it back to Fairy Tail in a record time. He burst through the door yelling, "HELP!" Everyone shot up from where they were and looked at him like he was crazy. "What's wrong, Gra-" Erza started to ask him, but was cut off when Natsu burst through the doors with flaming fists. Gray jumped behind Erza.

Erza looked at the furious Natsu and then the scared Gray. "What's the problem here?" Erza asked loudly. Natsu's anger was bubbling over. "That coward that's hiding behind you is the problem! He took what was my life!" Natsu growled through clenched teeth. Gray snorted. "Really? A girl is suddenly your life? Where's the real Natsu?" Gray was about to laugh when he saw Natsu's glare. He sunk further behind Erza's armor.

"More of an explanation!" Erza demanded. Gray spoke up. "You see, that flaming idiot has a thing for Lucy and then Lucy has a thing for me, so I have a thing for her. Lucy and I kissed and now flame brain over there is, well... Flame Brain." Erza sighed deeply, still unaware of Lucy's condition. She's been at her own apartment and just got back. "So this is all about Lucy?" Both nodded. "Where is she now anyway?"

"Porlyusica's," Gray said simply. Erza looked back at him. "Why?" A worried tone crept into Erza's voice. "She's almost dead!" Natsu's anger rose to a greater level, which everyone thought was impossible. Erza looked over her shoulder at Gray and spoke quietly, "Go out back and get home as quick as you can. I'll have him at his place in no time. He won't be conscious, but he'll be home." Gray nodded and shot off without a second thought. That's when the war began.

* * *

**Wellllll...**

**I don't know what to say about that. I honestly wanted to keep going with this chapter, but I don't know where to go with it. **

**I want people to review, but even if I say it it fails. So, I'll try it one last time. Please review and tell me what you thought, tell me if this was even a good chapter. I personally thought it was good. So, later!**

**Until next time! (: Bye! :)**


	6. Awake

**I am really not in a writing mood but I know that this has to get done before my vacation so I decided to crack down and get to work. I don't really know where this chapter will go, but who cares? Time to see how much of a disaster this is. Like I said, not in the zone. **

**Ready? GO!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

"LUCY!" Gray screamed and sat straight up, his body yet again drenched in sweat. He was obviously panicking and looked around his room for reassurance. The dream of Lucy's..._ accident _had been appearing as a dream every night. It was more of a nightmare sent to torture him continuously. It happened every single night, and so far it had been almost a month of pure agony. Gray was the one that was being hit the hardest out of the guild, he felt what was left of his well-being crumbling into a pile of rubble.

Gray sighed and turned on his side to look at his clock. He groaned and shoved a pillow over his head when he found it was four in the morning. Going back to sleep would only hurt more, and there wasn't anywhere to go. Gray stayed in that position thinking back on Porlyusica's words. _"She's responding to all of the herbs I'm using on her. If she can keep it up, she will be just fine. I can assure you, that she will awaken any day now. It may only be for a single minute, but she will be awake." _Gray felt a large wave over sorrow seep over him. Porlyusica has said this a week ago, going on two.

Gray felt a drop of sweat roll down the side of his face. He wiped it away and realized it wasn't sweat, but a tear. Quickly, he shut his eyes to suppress the urge to cry. _I will stay strong. _Gray had repeated this line nonstop over the past month. It seemed to be the only thing that seemed to keep him going. The urge to cry slowly left Gray's trembling body. He tried to shake off the feeling, as usual. But it didn't seem to have a large effect. Gray felt his stomach churning. There was something ...off. Something odd. Something _different_.

Gray could always feel Lucy's presence. It was simply natural. He could feel when she was was okay, when she was around him. Maybe she was awake. She had to be. It was the only explanation that Gray had for feeling the way he did. He felt safer and warmer whenever he knew she was around. He had to get to Porlyusica's...and _now_. Gray stood and shot out of his apartment at the speed of lightning. He was nearly a blur as he zoomed through town. "I know your awake. And I can finally fulfill my promise..." Gray whispered.

After all, his hadn't done anything to actually have any effect on his promise he'd made to her. He had done all he could so far. He had saved her by bringing her to Porlyusica's...Right? Maybe he could keep it up and take care of her. That would do it. Gray knew that _he'd _be the one taking care of Lucy, and _not _Natsu.

Speaking of him, Gray thought back on what had been happening between the two within the last month. They were avoiding each other, to say the least. If one was already in the guild and the other walked into the same room, everything would go silent. The air was tense and the entire environment turned from happy into a mix of anger, tension, and stress. The mix was unbearable, and it seemed that no one could fix the two. Other Fairy Tail members including Erza, Mira, Cana, Levy, Happy, and a few other members attempted to make things right between Natsu and Gray, but it wasn't as they successful as they had hoped. Long story short, a very large forest was suddenly nothing but a field of ash. Needless to say, both got away alive (barely) and they were both beat up pretty bad.

Natsu was handling the situation better than Gray, but he was still crushed. Natsu was holding up better because of the fact that he hadn't been there when Lucy was first hurt, and though he wished he was there to prevent this whole spiral of pain and fighting, there was a small part of him glad that he hadn't been there to witness such a tragic event. From the way Gray described it, it sounded pretty bad. But, there wasn't a real way to make it sound good... Natsu and Gray's emotions had a feel bits of resemblance, there were plenty of difference. For one thing, Natsu could actually sleep at night. Then there was the fact that he still frequently visited the guild instead of quarantining himself inside of an apartment. Also the fact that Natsu still had the ability to socialize correctly, rather than bring everyone around him into a vortex of depression.

Natsu was at Lucy's. He was sitting on her couch with Happy asleep a few feet away. Once again, sleep had yet to find Nastu. He sat silently while he thought. _Maybe she's awake... Maybe I should go check... _If Natsu went to go check, it would be probably the hundredth time this week. Obviously Porlyusica wouldn't be happy with him, it wouldn't really matter. He trudged out the door and left Happy to sleep peacefully. There wasn't really a reason to wake up someone who was as undisturbed as Happy. Just because Natsu wasn't sleep peacefully, didn't mean he had to let someone feel the same.

Natsu made his way to Porlyusica's slowly. It took a good while to get there, and when he got there he wasn't happy. Natsu could smell Gray here, but he couldn't just leave after coming this far. He walked up to Porlyusica's door and knocked lightly. The door was opened by Porlyusica and boy did she look unhappy, not only that. She look tired. Almost as if she was about to pass out. "Come on in. Your friend is already here."

Natsu nodded and walked in. Gray was sitting on the edge of the bed that Lucy was on while mindlessly running his thumb over Lucy's left hand while he held it. When he noticed Natsu, he stood up quickly and stepped into his fighting his stance, his shirt seemed to disappear into thin air. Classic...

Natsu was honestly not in the mood to fight, which Gray seemed to pick up when Natsu didn't charge at him. Gray simply raised his eyebrow in a confused fashion as he looked at Natsu. "I'm not here to fight, Gray. I just thought I should come visit Lucy. I just had a feeling that maybe she woke up, nut I knew it couldn't be right..." Natsu's voice trailed off in disappointment. Gray's eyes seemed to light up slightly when he said that. "Really? Me too. I just had a feeling that she may have awoken. I see we were both wrong," Gray sighed deeply as he spoke.

Both of them turned to look at Lucy. She didn't have an actual shirt on, she was wrapped in bandages on her upper half. There wasn't any gap in the bandages until they cut off abruptly at her shoulders. It looked more like a strapless shirt made out of bandages than anything. While Natsu and Gray were looking at her. Something happened. The dream of everyone at Fairy Tail had come true. One of Lucy's eyes opened, and then the other.

Lucy had awoken...

Gray seemed to notice first. His mouth gaped, causing Natsu to look at him and then at Lucy. Her eyes were open, but she didn't move. She didn't do anything, for that matter. Her head was slightly propped up, so she could see both Gray and Natsu, but she still said nothing. Natsu was the first to speak. "Uhh...Porlyusica? You should get in here and see this..._now_," Natsu ordered hastily. Porlyusica groaned and walked in. When she saw Lucy's eyes open she rushed over to her.

"Both of you, I highly advise you to get out for the night and come back in a few hours. When the sun has fully risen, come back. But, for now, just go," the pink-haired woman said firmly. Natsu started talking. "You actually think we're leaving?! Lucy just woke up and you want us to-" Porlyusica finished for him. "_Leave_." Porlyusica sent a death glare his way, causing him to go silent immediately. Gray didn't dare argue with her after seeing the death glare sent to Natsu. Personally, he was fine living without Porlyusica's glare haunting him. Really...

Natsu was the first to exit with Gray not far behind. Before Gray left, he looked back at Porlyusica. His expression told her, "She isn't okay is she?" Poryusica shook her head and watched as the young ice mage left her home. She then looked back at her patient and sighed. "One step forward, two steps back."

Outside of the house, Natsu had already started to walk down the path back to Magnolia when Gray stopped him. He needed to make things right, and he needed to do it now rather than later. "Natsu, wait." Natsu looked over his shoulder and slowly came to a stop. "Yes?" he asked curiously. He seemed calmer than usual, but Gray was _not _going to ruin that. "I really am sorry for kissing Lucy. You had feelings for her first and I should have respected that." Natsu replied with a small grin as he turned around. "Thanks, but you know I wasn't going to let you have her that easily that, right?" Natsu asked with a smirk. Gray sighed and shook his head. "I thought so." Natsu looked at him again and said, "You know, we may not be going through the exact same thing. But what we are going through is similar, and we need to stick together to survive through this. Alright?" Gray smiled for the first time in weeks, the gesture felt foreign as his grin settled on his face, and nodded.

Natsu looked up at him. "Come on, let's get back to Magnolia. We can at least try to get a few more hours of sleep in. How about we meet at the guild at eleven. Sound good?" Natsu asked. Gray nodded and said, "Sure. Hopefully the guild can actually survive with the two of us in it, Fame Brain." Natsu let a playful grin play onto his face. "Nice to have you back, Ice Princess."

The two walked back to Magnolia, the silence actually comfortable. The only thing that could be heard were the uneven footsteps as they continued to walk. Once they had returned back to Magnolia, they parted ways. Natsu went back to Lucy's apartment, and Gray went back to his own place. Natsu arrived at Lucy's apartment before Gray arrived at his own. He entered and saw Happy still asleep. Natsu didn't hesitate to join him, and he was soon asleep beside the blue cat.

At Gray's apartment, he made his way to his room and collapsed on the bed. There was a feeling in him that was slightly relieved that Lucy was finally awake, and another part of him that grew more worried about Porlyusica shaking her head. But, he chose to focus on the fact that Lucy was awake. Gray thought about that single thought and soon drifted off into the first peaceful sleep he'd had in weeks.

* * *

After hours of glorious sleep, Gray was awake and on his way to Fairy Tail. When he walked in, he spotted Natsu almost immediately and walked over. The whole guild had gone silent when they saw Gray enter, but everyone soon realized his mood was definitely different. It wasn't gloomy, it was a lighter mood. Not happy, but a huge difference. Natsu turned when he saw him. "Ready to go?" he asked. Gray nodded in response and waited for Natsu to stand before he started making his way to the door. As they passed, members gave them weird looks that Natsu and Gray shrugged off.

The walk to Porlyusica's was again silent, but it wasn't awkward. There just wasn't anything to say. They arrived and went to the door. Porlyusica welcomed them in and ushered the two to Lucy. The blonde looked the same as when they left her. Her eyes were open, she was looking straight ahead, and her expression was completely blank. "Well, she _is _awake. But, she doesn't seem to be responding. It's like her mind is turned off." Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Turned off?" He snapped his fingers inches away from Lucy's face and then sighed. "Oh..."

Gray seemed to jump right to the point as he said, "So, is she going to _'wake up' _any time soon?" Porlyusica looked up at the Fairy Tail mage and said, "Well, I don't know for sure. She may be stuck like this her entire life, or she may wake up with some time. If she continues to fight like she has been so far, she may have a slim chance at pulling through. There really is no way to tell for sure, and I'm sorry." Every ounce of hope Gray had pent up, shattered. Porlyusica noticed how much her words seemed to hit Gray and tried her best to quickly reassure him. "Hey, she's a fighter. She has a good chance of pulling through if she's been doing well so far. Trust me, she'll pull through just fine," Porlyusica lied. There was a very slim chance of Lucy waking up, but if she _did _continue to fight, there may be a chance of her waking up.

Gray said nothing as he nodded at her words and then silently left her home to make his way back to his apartment. Natsu sighed and quickly started after Gray to catch up to him. "Hold on, Gray! Wait a second!" He rushed outside and snagged Gray's shoulder before he could slip away. Gray turned to him and snapped, "What?" Natsu looked at him. "Lucy's going to wake up, she's going to be fine. You need to know that, Gray," Natsu tried to tell Gray this, but Gray rejected it. He was tired of believing in false hope. "You keep telling yourself that," Gray said coldly and turned away abruptly to leave.

Natsu could only stand there shocked as he looked at his comrade leaving. Had he actually just said that? Gray was definitely not himself, and in no mood to be messed with. Natsu repressed the urge to chase after Gray and forced himself to stiffly go back to Lucy. Once inside and sitting on the bed next to Lucy, he whispered, "You wake up. You hear me, Luce? I know you're in there and you better be listening to me. _Wake up_." Natsu soon stood and left.

He needed to get his mind off things. Maybe taking a job would help take his mind off of things. He could take a long, far away job. Maybe take some time and clear his mind. Then he could use the reward to pay Lucy's rent. After all, she _did _still need her rent to be payed. Someone had to step up and do it, so Natsu decided that he would be the one to do so. Natsu decided that was his plan.

It was a week before Natsu returned with Happy. He decided to go ahead and bring his best friend along on the job with him. Once the job was completed with only minimal damage done, he spent some extra time in the town with Happy to get the issues at hand out of his head, just for a while. Now, it was time to get back to reality. Natsu sighed as he saw Fairy Tail approaching. Happy seemed, well... happy when he saw the guild and didn't wait up for Natsu. He rushed ahead and flew through the open doors with ease. Natsu followed behind him, leaving a good bit of space between the two.

When he entered, MiraJane rushed up to him hastily. What she said shocked Natsu to the core. He didn't expect this at all. He stood frozen and waited for the words to sink in. It took Natsu a long while for the words to actually make sense in his mind.

_"Lucy's awake..."_

* * *

**By now, you know me and my cliff hangers. Normally I don't use so many, but this chapter was just getting too long. Ah, yes. The length of this chapter. I felt like I took too long on uploading it, so I made it longer as an excuse... Did it work?**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this. Sorry about any mistakes I made, I'm really tired. Now, what I'm wondering is if I should actually make this a few more chapters. I'm thinking maybe another one or two and then I'm done. But, tell me what you think I should do by leaving a review, and also tell me what you thought of this. Well, that's all I have to say, so...**

**Until nest time! (: Bye! :)**


	7. Memory

**There isn't much to say, except I'm sorry for how long it took to get this up. It might surprise you to know that I'm in the middle of the woods camping right now and I'm lucky that I even managed to get this posted while I'm out here. The Internet is just shameful. What did I expect in the woods...? Either way, I'm struggling. You'd think I'd be having fun swimming, fishing, canoeing, etc. But, no. I'm dying of boredom. No joke. **

**Now, enough of my whining. Let's just hurry up and get this over with.**

**Ready? GO!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

Natsu took a shocked step backwards, stumbling and almost falling while trying to complete the simple action. "Lucy..." Natsu whispered. Mira simply nodded. She expectantly waited for Natsu to bolt out of the open doors, but surprising that moment never came. _Maybe I could've delivered that in a better way... Oh, well. Too late now, _Mira thought as she observed Natsu and the way he seemed to try to comprehend what he'd just been told. You'd think he'd understand by now. It was two words, then again this is Natsu...

"She's awake?" he looked up at Mira as he suddenly spoke. "Lucy... _awake_?" Mira sighed and nodded. "Yes, Lucy is awake. Gray left a few minutes ago. Go ahead, catch up to him," Mira spoke softly. Natsu nodded mindlessly and then stumbled out of the open guild doors. Mira simply shrugged and headed back to the bar with a smile resting upon her face once again, her cheery mood returning as she worked.

Natsu walked along the path as the words still attempted to settle with him. After a few minutes of blindly walking, the words finally made sense. "She's awake," Natsu said aloud. _Then why am I walking? I need to get to her! _Finally, he bolted down the path. MiraJane's prediction was correct, just slightly delayed. Natsu was shooting down the path, a trail of dust behind left behind him as he continued flying down the path.

Porlyusica's home came into view sooner than expected. Natsu slowly slowed his pace and politely knocked on the door. Porlyusica opened the door and looked him, she seemed like she was very tired, this whole spiral of crazy was starting to take its toll on her, but she still tried to be kind. "I assume you're here to see the girl. Come on in," the pink haired woman ushered him inside and towards Lucy's bed. Gray was sitting by her side with a smile on his face for the first time in weeks. Natsu seemed to pause at the sight.

Lucy noticed him and looked in Natsu's direction with a shy smile. "Natsu..." Lucy whispered as her smile grew. "Come here so I can hug you to death!" Natsu hesitated slightly and made his way over to Lucy stiffly. He sat on the bed next to Lucy's waist and let her arms wrap around his neck. What he didn't hesitate on doing was returning the gesture. Natsu wrapped his arms around Lucy and hugged her tightly. "I can't believe you're finally awake. I missed being able to be with you," Natsu whispered in her ear. Lucy buried her face deeper into him to hide her blush.

Once Lucy's blush had subsided, she pulled back and smiled at him. Lucy was still in her bandages that served as clothing for the top half of her body. "What's been going on at the guild?" Lucy asked curiously. She expected to hear that half of the guild had been destroyed by Natsu and Gray fighting, or that they had taken a job and destroyed or town, or at least something that had to do with them destroying something. Natsu said, "For once, nothing. Everything has been silent." Gray added on by saying, "It really wasn't the same without you there." He smiled sheepishly.

Lucy smiled and felt her face flush with embarrassment. "I'm sure that's not true." But it was. "What about jobs? Have you taken any? Wait, what about my apartment? What about my rent?! I never payed rent!" Lucy started panicking.

Natsu smiled. "Calm down, Luce. Don't worry about your rent. I took a job and payed it for this month."

Lucy looked at Natsu and smiled gratefully. "You payed my rent? Thanks, Natsu. You know you didn't have to right?"

"Are you kidding me? I wasn't going to let you lose that place! Where else am I supposed to go without it there?" Natsu said with a warm smile.

Lucy smiled. "There's the Natsu I know."

No one seemed to notice Gray's frustrated expression. His eyebrow was slightly twitching in anger. _Of course Natsu paid her rent. Trying to steal her from me. Wait, why am I so jealous? I don't have anything to worry about. Lucy likes me, not Natsu. I hope things stay that way. _"Gray!" Lucy snapped her fingers only a few inches from his face. "What?" Gray snapped out of his thoughts and looked around. "What did I miss?" Lucy rolled her eyes. "I asked you what you've been up to lately?"

Gray smiled and shrugged. "Nothing much. Just the usual." Natsu scoffed. "Come on. You and I know that's not true," Natsu said. Gray quickly glared at him, and Natsu shut up immediately. He could tell that Gray didn't want to discuss the last month, and Natsu respected that. Lucy looked between the two mages suspiciously as they exchanged uneasy glances. "Hello?" Lucy asked as an attempt to snap them out of their little moment. "I'm still here, you know?"

Natsu jumped slightly at Lucy's voice and waited for Gray to come up with an excuse. As he expected, he did. "Sorry, just can't wait to get back to the guild and beat Flame Brain again," Gray smirked at him. "Again? You never won!" Natsu glared at the ice mage. Lucy rolled her eyes and then yawned loudly. Porlyusica appeared and looked at Lucy. "Tired? You two should let the girl rest," Porlyusica stated. Lucy shook her head quickly and said, "No, no! I'm fine. Besides, Natsu just got her and I want to ta-" She yawned again. It was clear she was tired when it looked like it took effort to keep her eyes open.

Natsu smiled. "You sleep, Luce. I'll be back tomorrow morning to see you, okay?" Natsu said as he stood to leave. Gray nodded in agreement, "And I'll come by after him. Does that sound good?" Lucy nodded and closed her eyes to sleep. Gray and Natsu silently left Porlyusica's and made their way back to Fairy Tail to celebrate. It would be the first of many parties.

* * *

Gray opened the door to his apartment and stumbled in. He made his way to the room after about 10 minutes of tripping and falling and using walls to support himself. Gray found his room and tripped over his own feet. Luckily, the first thing he met contact with was his bed. He just wanted to sleep. It was a long evening full of nonstop partying and he knew it was going to bite him in the butt right about...now. He felt a headache about to come on and knew it was a mistake to drink so much.

It was simply impossible to beat Cana in a drinking contest, and any other logical human being would have known that. Hell, even Natsu knew that beating Cana was impossible. But, Gray was so lost in the moment that his cocky attitude seemed to have won him over and was about to lead him down into one hell of a hangover. He had downed barely half a barrel and was drunk, while Cana was downing her third and looked just fine. Why he decided to challenge her in the first place... Well, that remains a mystery.

Gray sighed deeply and forced his eyes shut. He just wanted to go to sleep and wake up so he could go see Lucy. His prays were answered when a wave of fatigue washed over him and took his consciousness with it.

* * *

Lucy's eyes slowly opened. The first thing she took in was pain. There was a pain in her side that was hard to ignore. It felt like a jolt of electricity was sent coursing through her vanes every time she tried to move anything around that area. Then there was the pain in her stomach that left a searing pain any time she made _any _movement. So, Lucy came up with the plan of not moving a muscle. It helped drastically. There was still a dull throbbing that occurred in a frequent beat, but it was definitely easier to bare.

Finally, Lucy decided to pay attention to something other than pain. Maybe taking her focus off of the pain would help it subside slightly. She looked at the room around her. She recognized it as Porlyusica's home and sighed in relief, but winced when she felt a sharp pain stab her chest. Porlyusica heard Lucy's faint voice and rushed into the room. Lucy looked up at the pink-haired woman and smiled slightly, then looked around the room again. What Lucy expected to see was either Gray or Natsu or Erza or at least someone from Fairy Tail, but she saw that it was just herself and her healer.

"I see you're awake." Porlyusica seemed to be captain obvious today. Lucy nodded silently. "Well, how are you feeling?" Porlyusica looked at her sternly. She obviously was concerned about Lucy's condition.

Lucy shrugged slightly and bit back another wince at the simple action. "I'm fine. My side hurts, but my stomach doesn't. Well, not that much," Lucy lied. Her stomach was on fire. She didn't know why, but she was determined to act like she was okay. Whatever got her back to Fairy Tail faster.

Porlyusica nodded as she played along to Lucy act. The healer was experienced enough to know that someone in Lucy's condition was not "_fine_." She was in pain, maybe not a lot because of the herbs that were being used to treat her, but she was in more pain than she was letting on. Porlusica raised her eyebrow again. "Are you sure?"

Lucy stubbornly nodded. "I'm okay," she said calmly. It was definitely a challenge to talk normally when every muscle was screaming when she moved. "Where is everyone else?" Lucy looked up curiously.

"They left. Don't you remember? You said you were tired, so they left while you slept," Porlyusica looked at her closely as Lucy took in the new information.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. Of course I remember," Lucy's voice remained calm but the look of utter confusion on her face was a dead giveaway. She didn't remember having anyone leave. Nor did she remember getting into state. She didn't know how or when or even where the injuries on her had come from, but she wasn't going to tell Porlyusica. _I know I'm in Porlyusica's house. But the last thing I remember was that mission I took with Natsu. We went and stopped bandits. Yeah, that's it! I must have gone off on my own and gotten hurt. That's all. That's it.__  
_

Porlyusica took a step forward. "Tell me, do you remember how you got those wounds?" she asked.

Lucy nodded confidently. "I was with Natsu. We were working to catch some bandits. We got separated to work on the bandits that split up. I must have gotten caught off guard and the bandits got me before I got them." Lucy filled in the most logical details as she went along.

Porlyusica's eyes widened slightly with shock, but she decided to agree with Lucy. Maybe it wasn't best to put another burden on her shoulders. Porlyusica nodded. "Yes, I'm surprised you remembered so much. That was what Natsu told me." Lucy nodded in satisfaction. "If you need anything just tell me," Porlyusica scurried off quickly to try to get to work. The healer should have known that there was something wrong when Lucy's healing was going to plan. Because it had been proven in the past that _nothing _goes on as planned.

* * *

**Sorry for any errors in grammar or spelling and sorry for this being so short. I'm just tired and need sleep and also guilt was starting to kill me. I really should've uploaded more. With the amount of time since I posted the last chapter you would've expected something at least a little better. Maybe another thousand words or so, but I am way to tired to do any more.**

**The next chapter should be better and hopefully up sooner. Blah blah blah**

**Leave a review and tell me if you liked it, if you didn't. Blah blah blah. And so on with my useless nonsense. **

**Until next time! (: Bye! :)**

***Yawns* I could use a nap.**


	8. Devious

_**Welcome, welcome. Welcome to my end. Okay, not really. I'm just seriously about to die. Why? One word. One simple little word that ruins the lives of kids day after dreaded day. School. It's all killing me. The main subject that is ripping me apart is math. It's partially because my math teacher is always referred to as the "Bald One" because her hair is REALLY thin and her part is literally an inch of no hair. Bald. There's also the fact that she spends literally 5 seconds on a problem that we don't understand and then moves on. Anyways, on to the chapter I am writing for a third time. But first...**_

_**Part two of my problem. My international friends, shall we say, have all suddenly left. No warning, just goodbye letters and then gone. One deleted her account, another won't say anything to anyone but is still active and now she won't let me talk to her on here, and another is leaving in a couple of weeks. I'm depressed, I'm angry, I'm broken. I've spent nights alone crying in my room because I'm alone. Thanks guys. Our friendship meant something to me, but I was dumb enough to fall for crap like it. And now only one friend remains, and at least she is helping to heal me. Unlike all of you. (Certain people who know who they are.)**_

_**At least I have people like you all reading this crap you call a story. I keep writing everyday and it seems to be the only thing keeping me going. I guess it will all have to come to an end sooner or later, right? I'm not in any mood to be happy. I'm not even going to pretend to be happy.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail... Nor will I ever own anything that has meaning...**_

* * *

Natsu smiled as he walked down the road to Porlyusica's with his hands in his pockets. _I need to talk to Lucy about that Popsicle. _The memory from the night before replayed in his head.

_Natsu walked toward Cana with a devious smile, hoping to set his plan into action. It was actually quite a stellar plan for Natsu since he was, well, Natsu. "Hey, Cana! I got some news for ya!" he called to the mage._

_Cana looked up from her current mug of beer and raised an eyebrow, her mouth full of beer at the moment. She hummed something that sounded like, 'mmm...' that was meant to ask, "What?"_

_"Heard the new gossip? Lately it's been about that Ice Princess and you having a little one-on-one time together, and you guys apparently got down and dirty. Who knew that Gray actually had half the confidence to make such a move? I didn't think that all of it was right. That retard told me himself! Who knew he was desperate enough to make up such a lie?" Natsu said in his usual happy, innocent tone. _

_Cana's eyes widened and she almost choked on the beer still in her mouth when she heard the words leave Natsu's lips. Everyone around Cana froze as their eyes flew to her. Surprisingly, Cana didn't lash out or try to insult him. All she did was let a single word slip past her lips. "Gray," she grumbled like a beast, her voice dripping with malice and anger, she sounded like Erza when she was caught in a bad mood. And no one _ever _wants to get caught in a situation like that. _

_Natsu found himself left with a satisfied grin when he spotted Gray across the open beach. "Hey, Popsicle! Get over here! I think Cana has a gift for ya!" he called from beside Cana as her dark aura slowly filled the empty space around her._

_Gray walked toward the group of people with wide eyes and gaped mouths that all seemed to be directed toward him. "What do you want, Flame Brain?" he asked in a fake irritated voice. The curious note voice in his voice was hard to miss._

_Natsu slapped Gray's exposed back in a friendly way and walked by as he whispered, "Good luck," and left to go visit Lucy alone for the first time in a while. Maybe this time he could make a move that was actually worth remembering. Why was he suddenly so set on getting Lucy to like him? All he wanted to do now was stab Gray in the back and steal what was precious to him. And the scary part was that he _knew _he was in his right mind, he _knew _that he would hurt Gray, and he was _happy _about the thought of Gray being shattered in too many ways to be repaired. All he had his mind on was Lucy, and only Lucy._

And that thought remained even now, on his way to Porlyusica's. Thinking back on his previous actions, about how he had deceived Gray and gotten him beaten to a pulp by Cana, yet he didn't feel guilty in the slightest. What was happening to him?

His deceptive plan was born when he was walking down the streets of Magnolia and heard two girls talking about some rumor was going around that Gray and Cana had done _it _a while back as a simple drunk accident, or that was what he thought he'd heard. It made him wonder what kind of rumors were going around him, and the odd thing was that he actually _hoped _there were a few, at least, about him and Lucy.

Natsu smiled at the thought. As he saw Porlyusica's house approach, the smile on his face seemed to grow tremendously. There had been news that Lucy could return home soon, but only if someone would keep a close eye on her at all times. That was the second part of his plan. Staying with Lucy would hopefully help them to bond. Either that or a few months full of Lucy Kicks... He tried not to think about that as an outcome.

Natsu walked through Porlyusica's door without making any attempt knock. She knew how frequently he came and became accustomed to walking in and seeing the Dragon Slayer seated beside the young blonde's bed. The pinkette took his usual spot next to Lucy's bed. Surprisingly, she was awake. Ever since she had regained her consciousness, she had been slowly been able to stay awake for longer periods of time. When he sat down, Natsu was greeted by a pair of curious brown eyes. "Where's Porlyusica?" was the first thing that slipped from the blonde's mouth.

"I'm rarely here when you're awake, and you want to know where Porlyusica is?" Natsu asked with a note of irritation creeping into his voice with each word.

"Well, she seems to be acting odd lately and I want to know why. Just tell me where she is," Lucy said in a light, but demanding tone.

Natsu thought for a second. "I haven't seen her, but I'm sure she's here. Porlyusica!" He called the Healer's name. As he expected, she walked out of her room with a few herbs gathered in her hands. She raised a eyebrow. Natsu stated what was on Lucy's mind without sugar-coating it to the older woman. "Lucy thinks somethin' is up with you." He rested his head this his hand in a slightly bored manner.

The Healer saw how honest, and rude, he was being to her, so she decided to play his game. Lately, she'd been onto something about Lucy's waking up and not remembering anything occurring since she was previously conscious. Her theory was far from being proven, but it was just one of many things that could be happening to Lucy. By playing Natsu's game, the woman stated her prediction out loud, just as he had previously done. "What I suspect Lucy has is a condition that is related to amnesia. I guess you could think of it as some type of amnesia, but that isn't entirely the case. You see, she has what you can think of as a kind of memory remembrance illness. This one in specific is more commonly known as the "Memory Thief." What this does is it dissolves or "steals" any recent memories, and it will replace it with very hazy ones. These false memories are most likely small pieces of random memories that the victim favors. It is said to leave once it is satisfied, which is how it got its unique name. People relate it to a thief; Taking what they want until they find themselves satisfied with what they've manged to gather. Now, here is the important part. It could take somewhere between 1-6 months for this to leave. 6 months is rare, but has happened before. The average amount of time it takes is 2 months or so."

Lucy's jaw dropped slightly, as did Natsu's. Porlyusica simply nodded and left the room, obviously satisfied with her work. The two sat, or laid in Lucy's case, in shock. The celestial mage was the first to speak. "Natsu?"

"Yes?"

"Could you please get me a bucket?"

"What? Why?"

"I think I might-" Lucy held her mouth closed as her cheeks puffed out.

"Not here! Don't do it, Luce! Don't d-" Natsu was cut off before he could finish.

* * *

_**I just needed to do something to get this up. I've been yelled at twice to go to bed, yet here I am. I still an depressed, but what is there that can heal me? **_

_**Whatever the future holds doesn't look bright.**_


End file.
